Skyrocketing demand for fuel cells worldwide will be driven by technological advances, improved manufacturing efficiencies, and government mandates and subsidies.

World fuel cell demand to nearly triple by 2017

The global appetite for commercial fuel cell products will advance in dramatic fashion over the next decade with demand almost tripling to $4 billion in 2017 and then tripling again through 2022 to $12 billion. Increases will be stimulated by technological advances that will help reduce costs to competitive levels in a growing number of applications, and improved manufacturing efficiencies will support these gains as output levels climb. For the last few decades, fuel cell cars have been only promised. Now they really are here, and nearly half of fuel cell revenues in 2022 will derive from motor vehicle applications. Just as automotive fuel cell demand will be spurred by efficiency and emissions regulations, success in other markets will be greatest where factors other than price play a significant role in purchase decisions. These factors include government mandates concerning the use of alternative energy sources and pollution abatement and government subsidies, which increase fuel cell cost competitiveness.

Motor vehicles to be fastest growing market

Strong commercial demand for fuel cells is projected across the board in all applications. However, it will be most pronounced in motor vehicles, where it is forecast to expand sixtyfold from current levels to reach nearly $5.5 billion in 2022. In early 2014, Hyundai became the first automobile producer to begin leasing fuel cell vehicles, and a number of other major automakers are expected to offer a limited number of additional vehicle models by 2017. In addition to fuel cell powered automobiles, revenues will derive from buses, as well as fuel cell-powered range extenders for electric vehicles.

Electric power generation to remain largest market

Electric power generation is the most successfully commercialized fuel cell application to date, accounting for three-quarters of all commercial revenues in 2012. Electric power generation-related fuel cell demand will continue to grow at a brisk pace through 2022, bolstered by comparatively low hurdles to overcome in order to achieve cost competitiveness and much greater fuel efficiency than conventional power generation methods.

Fuel cell systems used by portable electronics suppliers will benefit from their products’ ability to generate power over a longer period than comparably sized batteries and from further cost reductions. Although fuel cell systems used in these applications will account for 85 percent of all unit demand in 2022, portable electronics will remain a modest-sized market in value terms because sales will be dominated by high volume, low price products.